Reduced Mass 2
by DavidJ647
Summary: Nine years came and went, and the adventure has only just begun. Have I prepared enough to be able to stop Saren and his army of geth? How will my presence screw things up this time? Only time will tell. Self-Insert.
1. 0-0: Prologue

**Atlantis – Audionautix**

* * *

**REDUCED MASS 2**

* * *

"Doc, he's awake!"

"That's not right, I just gave him sedatives."

"Well, I'm guessing you didn't give him enough."

I weakly open my eyes and try to look around. I feel like someone held a shotgun under my chin and pulled the trigger… but not before hitting me over the head with a ball peen hammer a few times.

"Uh... I…," I manage to croak out. "Where…?"

My eyes are only sending me blurry pictures, but I can faintly make out three figures standing over me.

"Try and stay calm," a soothing voice says. "You're safe."

I begin to blink the tears of strain out of my eyes. I don't have a clue as to where I am.

"Where… am I?" I groan after putting my full concentration on forming sentences. My vision is beginning to clear up more, and I begin to see familiar faces.

"You're aboard the Normandy," an all too familiar voice answers. "You took quite a hit back on Eden Prime."

The memories that I had temporarily forgotten about all come rushing in at once and I begin to feel extremely nauseous.

My mind clears up with the sudden danger of vomiting and I manage to sit up straight on the edge of the bed.

"I need a bucket," I say, remarkably clearly.

A bucket appears out of the corner of my eye and I grab it out of the persons hands. Just in time as well, as just as I hold it under my mouth, the contents of my stomach come tumbling out without warning. As soon as I'm done, the bucket magically disappears out of my sight once again.

"David," another familiar voice says, fully of worry. "Are you alright?"

I look up and take in my surroundings with an odd sense of calm. My eyes instantly meet with Shepard's.

"I'm fine," I say, giving Shepard a weak smile. "At least… I think I am."

"It's my fault," Kaidan says from a few steps behind Shepard. "I shouldn't have gotten so close to the beacon."

I wearily rub my eyes free from the last of the tears and dirt.

"Don't worry about it," I verbally shrug. "I survived, didn't I?"

"Barely," a calm yet assertive voice disagrees. "You were clinically dead for thirteen seconds."

I look past Shepard and see Dr. Chakwas crossing her arms.

"I… uh…," I stammer out. "I'm sorry?"

"I believe a thank you would be in order," the doctor deadpans. "That wasn't an easy task, you know."

"You're lucky Dr. Chakwas is one of the Alliance' best doctors," Shepard adds, also crossing her arms.

"Thank you Dr. Chakwas," I say groggily. "I owe you one."

"I'll be sure to redeem that favor in the future," Chakwas says, her tone now lighter than before. "I'm just glad I was able to resuscitate you."

"How long was I out?" I ask, effectively changing the subject.

Dr. Chakwas bring up her omni-tool to check the time.

"Seventeen hours."

"We thought you'd be out for longer," Shepard says. "But you're too stubborn to be effectively sedated."

I snort out a laugh.

"You know me too well," I say.

"Your brain was giving off an unusual amount of beta waves," Dr. Chakwas interjects. "You must've been dreaming a tremendous amount while you were out."

Ah right. The vision.

"I… yeah, I was," I say while rubbing my temples, trying to rid myself of the last of my now fading migraine. "The beacon transmitted some sort of… vision to me."

"A vision?" Kaidan asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "I saw… well I saw a lot of things."

"Like?" Shepard presses on.

"I saw the death of the galaxy, among other things," I say. "Trillions of corpses, cities burning, giant machines of some sort."

"Very interesting," Chakwas says. "That would explain the brainwaves."

"I think the protheans were trying to warn us," I say as I shakily get up of the bed and stand up.

"Warn us about what?" Shepard asks, taking a step forward as she notices that I'm still shaky on my feet.

"I… I don't know," I shake my head, lying. "Maybe the vision will make sense over time. But what I saw was… disconcerting to say the least."

I notice a glass of water standing next to the bed. I take it and drink the entire glass before setting it down again.

"Where did you put my armor?" I ask Dr. Chakwas, noticing that I'm standing around in only a t-shirt and the pair of sweatpants I had under my armor.

"We stored it in the cargo bay," she says. "But you shouldn't be running around, at least not for another two hours while the sedatives wear off."

I wave a hand through the air dismissively.

"I'm fine doc, really," I say, trying to reassure the doctor. "I just need some food and water and I'll be up in no time."

"David, take her advice," Shepard says, putting a hand on my shoulder as I try to push past her. "Two hours isn't a long time."

I look at Shepard and see that her eyes are still lined with a faint amount of worry.

"Fine," I sigh, sitting back down on the bed. "Why would I ever turn down an order to rest anyways."

Kaidan chuckles.

"Responsible decision," Dr. Chakwas nods. "I'll come check up on you in an hour."

Dr. Chakwas walks out of the med-bay, leaving only Kaidan, Shepard and I.

"I'll leave you two to catch up," Kaidan says shortly after. "No doubt you have a lot to talk about."

Without another word, Kaidan also leaves the med-bay, leaving only Shepard and me.

"There's probably a lot of things that you want to ask me," I say sheepishly.

"Yeah, there is," Shepard replies dryly, taking a seat across from me on the other med-bay cot.

"Well, ask away."

Shepard takes a deep breath before continuing to speak.

"After Rio," she begins. "What happened?"

"Do you want the full story or the short version?" I chuckle.

Shepard gives me a look that suggests that I shouldn't even have asked.

"Alright, alright," I say apologetically. "Right after Rio, I went back to New Canton."

"New Canton?" Shepard asks, raising an eyebrow. "There's nothing on that world but forests and mountains."

"That's where you're wrong," I say. "It just happens to be one of the bounty hunting world's best kept secrets."

Shepard looks at me incredulously.

"Yeah I know, I was surprised too. The largest mountain on the planet houses one of the biggest illegal trading hubs in the galaxy. Slaves, weapons, bounty hunters… what ever you want you can get."

"And what were you doing there?" Shepard asks, crossing her arms.

"I worked for New Canton's boss," I continue. "Bigshot information broker by the name of Donnie."

Shepard looks at me and doesn't say anything. But she's listening very intently.

"Donnie then sent me on a mission to kill my best friend on Omega… which I didn't do. Then Aria made me take out a krogan slaver that was causing her problems in exchange for a new identity… which I did."

I take a deep breath.

"And that's when I landed on Eden Prime. I've been living legally ever since."

Shepard seems to be processing the information as she begins to chew on the inside of her cheek.

"What about the beacon you allegedly found?" she asks, breaking the short silence.

"I didn't allegedly find it," I huff. "I _did _find it. Then the Alliance decided to repossess my dig site and announce to the world that they found a working prothean beacon. Look how well _that_ turned out."

"The Alliance was just following protocol," Shepard says defensively. "The prothean protection act is a council space wide law that the Alliance adopted into their laws."

"I know, I know," I say resignedly. "It doesn't matter now at any rate. Can't take back what transpired. The beacon is gone, and I lost my best friend in the process."

Tears begin to well up in my eyes again.

"I'm sorry about Ming," Shepard says, trying to console me. "He'll get a proper burial, we retrieved the body."

"Thank you," I say, blinking the tears away as I look back at Shepard. "I didn't get a chance to properly say goodbye."

Shepard gets up from the cot and walks towards me, handing me a tissue.

"I'm glad you're ok David," Shepard says as she sits back down. "I was worried sick about you."

"Thank you, that means a lot," I smile. "I do have a knack for getting myself into trouble, don't I?"

Shepard scoffs, but the smile on her face gives away her sarcasm.

"That is the understatement of the millennium," she laughs, shaking her head. "In hindsight, I'm not even surprised that it was _you_ that dug up the beacon."

"Yeah," I say diffidently. "I hope I didn't give Kaidan that much of a scare."

"Alenko will be fine," Shepard says. "He looked like he'd seen a ghost after you threw him away from the beacon."

"I'll have a talk with him after Dr. Chakwas dismisses me."

A short silence forms between Shepard and I.

"Listen, David," Shepard says, her expression turning serious. "There is one more thing I wanted to ask."

"Go ahead."

"About what you said on Rio… right before you left."

I feel a nervous knot forming in my stomach. I'm terrible at these sorts of talks.

"Yeah?" I say, a lump forming in my throat.

_"__Commander, Captain Anderson wants to speak to you in the Comm Room."_

The voice of Joker interrupts the oncoming revelation.

"We'll talk later," Shepard says as she gets up from the cot she was sitting on.

Just as she's about to leave the med-bay, she turns around.

"I'm happy you're here," she says. "You still owe me a drink."

"Oh you're Right! Elysium… totally forgot," I laugh. "I'll write it in my calendar."

Shepard smiles and leaves the med-bay.

The med-bay is now completely silent save for the quiet humming of some equipment, and my mind begins to wander again.

I've been in this universe for nine years, and it still doesn't feel real sometimes. Now more than ever with me being on the Normandy.

But it's all real. Everything I've experienced, felt, and lost. And Ming's death hurts more than anything I've experienced in my time here.

Tears begin to fall again, and this time I let them flow. I've there's one thing I need to get out of my system. It's this.

After a few seconds, I begin to cry freely as all the pent up emotion I've kept inside my body over the years finally find a way out.

All the pain and death I've experienced.

I can't keep it locked up in myself forever.

* * *

I step out of the med-bay and look around. Dr. Chakwas cleared me a few minutes ago after giving me some Ibuprofen should my headache flare up again. Even hundreds of years later, Ibuprofen is still a go-to painkiller.

I never would have guessed.

At any rate, I do feel a lot better now. My little moment came and went, and I actually managed to take a somewhat restful nap.

"Hey, David!" Kaidan calls over from the mess hall table. "Have a moment to talk?"

"Sure," I say. I hope my eyes aren't too red from crying.

I take a seat across from Kaidan.

"What's up?"

Kaidan rubs his hands nervously.

"I wanted to thank you for dragging me away from that beacon," he begins. "I… I should have known better. I shouldn't have gotten that close."

"It's not your fault," I say. "I got just as close when I dug it up; nothing happened then so nobody could've predicted it happening when you got too close."

"Still, thank you," Kaidan says. "I owe you one."

"Ah, don't worry about it," I grin. "The only thing you owe me is a beer if we ever get the chance."

"Yeah, it's the least I could do," Kaidan chuckles.

"Let's talk more later," I say as I get up from the table. "I want to walk around a bit, get my circulatory system going a bit."

"There's coffee shots in the fridge, that might help," Kaidan says, pointing over to the small kitchen across the mess hall.

"Thanks, I'll see you around."

I don't remember there being a kitchen here, but hey, I'm not complaining.

I open the fridge and take out a tiny can of what seems to be what Kaidan was talking about.

_'__Uncle Carlo's Caffeine Capsule'_

Interesting name, I wonder how much caffeine it actually has.

The contents of the can instantly make me recoil in disgust, garnering a laugh from one of the crew members of the Normandy in the process as she walks by.

"It's not supposed to taste good!" Kaidan calls from across the room. "It's just supposed to give you an energy boost!"

I scrunch up my face as I pour out the rest of the contents of the can into the sink.

"Remind me to get some real energy drinks when we get the chance," I say after rinsing my mouth out of with some tap water.

"That's insultingly bad."

"Noted," Kaidan snickers.

That reminds me, I should get my armor out of the cargo bay.

After mentally making a note to never drink that caffeine capsule again, I push past the mess hall and towards the large elevator into the cargo hold.

Conveniently enough, the door is open.

The elevator screeches to life at a pace that I can only describe as the slowest pace I've moved in my entire life. It sounds like it's _really _trying not to die.

Maybe it just needs some WD40.

The door lurches open as I reach the bottom level, and I come face to face with the Normandy's Mako for the first time.

I whistle in amazement as I begin to walk around it, examining every inch.

"First time seeing a Mako?" a voice startles me, and I jump in shock.

"Jesus!" I shout. "What is it with you alliance folk and sneaking up on people?"

I turn around to face Ashley sitting a few meters away on a crate assembling her rifle.

"Sorry, but I think you're just blind," she jokes. "I've been sitting here this entire time."

"Right… I knew that," I mumble. "But to answer your question, yes. First time I've seen a Mako in years. From this distance at least."

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" Ashley says as she gets up from her crate, putting her now fully assembled rifle to the side. "A lot better than what we had before."

"The grizzly, was it?" I ask, and Ashley nods.

"Yeah, was a lot roomier than the Mako, but a lot slower and less maneuverable."

"I can imagine," I hum in agreement.

"How are you feeling?" Ashley asks. "You know, after coming back from the dead."

"Hah well, considering the circumstances, I feel fine. Dr. Chakwas is a miracle worker it seems."

"That's good to hear," Ashley says. "If you're looking for your armor, its in the lockers across the cargo bay."

"I was just about to ask," I reply. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Ashley walks back to the crate and begins to fiddle with her rifle again while I walk over to a locker that, remarkably enough, has my name on it.

I internally smile as I open the locker. My armor, my pistol… everything is here along with an assault rifle. Brand new by the looks of it.

Before I can put on my armor however, my omni-tool beep, indicating that I've received a message.

Ming? That can't be right.

The head of the message reads _'Contingency'_.

_David, _

_I hope this message is never received by you. If you have received it, then I have expired._

_I am forwarding all my important files and contacts to you._

_You are the only one I trust with my information._

_Take Care._

Attached to the message is an encrypted file with the same name as the message title.

Huh, Ming really did think of everything. This will come in handy for sure.

I close the message and begin to put on my armor. As always, it's all muscle memory and my armor is on within 2 minutes. I decide to leave my helmet and pistol in my locker for the time being.

I close the locker and begin to wander around the ship again.

* * *

I manage to clear the last step on my way up to the top deck of the Normandy before I'm stopped by an older, balding man.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

The man extends a hand and grins.

"Charles Pressly," he says.

Ah, of course. How could I forget.

"Pleasure to meet you," I say as we firmly shake hands.

"I was wondering when I'd finally meet you in person," he continues. "Hell of a thing you did on Elysium."

"Thank you," I smile. "You were there too, if I remember correctly?"

"One of the first to arrive." Pressly nods. "I lost count as to how many pirates we gunned down in the Agincourt."

"Yeah, I can't remember how many how many pirates I ended up killing," I chuckle. "Left with a nice souvenir too."

Pressly laughs.

"Well, welcome aboard," he says. "If you have time in the future, we could share some stories about the blitz. Commander Shepard told me about your actions, but I want to hear your part of the story as well."

"Gladly," I say. "

Pressly nods and steps back to his station.

Well, this is a nice change of pace. It's actually refreshing to be in a setting where not everyone is trying to kill you, is a criminal or just a shady character in general.

I could get used to this… but I know better.

Things might seem okay now, but shit is going to hit the fan real soon.

Interestingly enough, meeting people like Kaidan, Ashely or Pressly isn't as shocking or surprising as I thought it would be after arriving here. I guess I've just been in this universe for such a long time that it seems normal.

I don't get a moment of respite.

"David, Captain Anderson wants to speak with you," Shepard says as she walks out of the comm room.

I follow Shepard wordlessly into the comm room and come face to face with Captain Anderson for the first time.

Even though I've never met him before, he commands a tremendous air of respect.

"It is good to finally meet you," Anderson says as he extends a hand in greeting.

"The pleasure is mine," I say as I shake his hand. "No doubt you have a lot of questions."

"Just a few," Anderson replies, motioning for me to sit down.

"The Commander told me about what transpired on Eden Prime," Anderson continues as he remains standing in the middle of the room. "She told me about the vision you had."

"Yeah… it was all a blur," I say while rubbing the back of my neck. "I saw everything and nothing at the same time. It's difficult to explain but I think the protheans are trying to warn us about something."

"It is an interesting find," Anderson muses. "Ambassador Udina has asked us to meet with him once we arrive on the Citadel. We can discuss more about your vision then."

Anderson takes a seat on the edge of one of the chairs of the comm room.

"The more pressing issue is figuring out why the geth wanted the beacon… and how Saren may be involved."

"Sir, with all due respect," I begin. "I only saw what Shepard saw. I do not have additional information."

"Did your friend at the beacon see anything?"

I can feel my expression turn somewhat sour.

"Last thing he said to me is that he tried to stop a turian. He didn't mention Saren's name."

"We don't have much to go on, but we have an eyewitness account," Anderson sighs. "He's using the geth to try and wipe out humanity, and we need to try and stop him."

I have to suppress a sigh.

If only I could tell you, Anderson.

"I'm here to help," I say to Anderson. "After Eden Prime, I want to nail the bastard that's responsible. If it's Saren, I will do everything in my power to take him down."

"That's good to hear," Anderson says. "It won't be easy, but we have to at least _try_."

"Well, whatever may happen, I would like to be along for the ride," I say, looking to Shepard.

"That's Anderson's decision," Shepard says, looking to the captain.

"I'll decide after we've gotten a chance to talk to Udina," Anderson says as he gets up. "Both of you are dismissed. If you need anything, I will be in the captain's office."

Anderson walks out, leaving only Shepard and I in the comm room.

"I don't think the testimony of one rattled dock worker will nail Saren to the cross," I say after a short bout of silence. "If it's Saren's word against Powell's, who do you think people are going to believe?"

Shepard slinks down on a chair across from me.

"So you'd rather do nothing?"

"What? No, I'm not saying that," I say, somewhat surprised. "I just think we can't go and cry wolf until we have actual, solid evidence."

"And how do you suggest we find evidence on a Council Spectre?" Shepard asks, annoyance creeping into her voice.

"Did I ever tell you about Ming?" I ask, taking Shepard off guard.

"No, what does that have to do with Saren?"

"Well, Ming was an information broker. Small scale, but he was one of the best in his field of work," I say. "Now, when he died, he left me all of his encrypted files. Names, contacts, networks… you name it he's left it to _me_."

Shepard taps her index finger on her chin in thought.

"You think that we may be able to find something on Saren through the networks?"

"It's worth a shot," I shrug. "Better to have looked and found nothing than to have just not used an asset."

This may very well be the best cover I have. With the vision and Ming's files, I could be a big influence in and of the future without blowing my cover.

"Go for it," Shepard says. "We need to follow every lead we can."

"Great!" I exclaim. "I'll start immediately."

Just as I try to get up and leave the comm room, Shepard stops me.

"David, wait," she says.

I guess there's no way around it.

"What's up," I say as I sit back down across from Shepard.

"When we last met in Rio," Shepard says, a hint of uncertainty lining her words. "Well… what you said before you left..."

"I meant what I said," I say, somewhat shakily. "I know it was a long time ago, but my feelings haven't changed."

I take a deep breath.

"I care about you Olivia. I hope you can forgive me for what I did on Rio and how I left our friendship up in the air… just leaving you like that was a mistake that I won't make again."

"You know, I tried hating you once you left," Shepard says. "But I can't for some reason. I hate what you did on Rio… but I can't hate _you_ as a person. In some twisted and fucked up way I understand where you're coming from."

"I just want you to know that I've finally put all of that past me," I say. "After what happened with Donnie, I never want to do anything like that ever again."

Shepard looks at me searchingly.

"As difficult as it may seem," I sigh. "I need you to trust me on this. As hard as it may be for you to believe it, I _have_ changed."

"I believe you," Shepard replies. "I do, although it doesn't seem right."

My heart sinks a little.

Shepard gets up from her seat.

"Listen, I need some time to think all of this over," she says. "This is a lot to digest."

"Take all the time you need," I nod in agreement.

"Don't make me regret trusting you," Shepard says as she walks out of the comm room.

Silence fills the room again as I stare into space.

Well, that went better than I thought. All my feelings are a jumbled mess anyways, and the moment Shepard and I shared in Rio was years ago.

In hindsight, I really shouldn't have just left her sitting there. But what else was I supposed to do?

It's all in the past now anyways. What's done is done.

I need to clear my head.

* * *

I decided to find a quiet spot in the cargo bay between a few crates and think for a while.

We're about to arrive on the Citadel and I've decided that I'm going to take a more proactive approach to things now.

With the vision and Ming's files at my disposal, I realized that I can believably pass off knowing a few things in advance without too much difficulty. There's no point in taking a back seat and letting things pan out like they're _'supposed'_ to.

I have the power to change things, and that's what I plan on doing. I can't let the beacon debacle dishearten me; that was out of my power to a certain extent. That, and trusting a person like Sambora is a mistake I'll never make again.

At any rate, I've started coming up with a few small plans as to how I want to influence what's to come next.

Will it work?

I have no clue.

There's quite a commotion on board now that we're getting close to the Citadel. News of the attack on Eden Prime has traveled to every corner of the galaxy and the Normandy is the only vessel that has any available eyewitness accounts of what transpired.

I've heard reports on the number of casualties… and that number just keeps on rising.

The destruction of Shikai and Eisenhower alone cost at least eight-hundred thousand people their lives. The death toll on the farmland is still unknown.

I make my way into the comm room of the Normandy. Everyone present on Eden Prime has taken a seat around Anderson, who's standing in the middle.

I take a seat next to Kaidan and nod my greeting to Anderson.

"Listen up," Anderson says resolutely. "Udina has forwarded the report that I sent to him about what happened on Eden Prime to the Council. They are willing to meet with us to let us plead our case."

Everyone in the room exchanges surprised glances.

"We will meet with Ambassador Udina first," Anderson continues. "He wants to be informed on what has transpired."

"He also wants to have a talk with you," Anderson says while looking at me.

"Why?" I ask.

"He didn't say," Anderson says, focusing his attention back on the group.

Well, this is starting off worse than I expected.

"Anything that is discussed at the Embassies is strictly classified, do I make myself clear?"

"Understood, sir," we all say in rough unison.

"Dismissed."

Kaidan leans over to me.

"Why do you think Udina wants to talk to you?" he asks in a hushed tone.

"I have no clue," I verbally shrug. "Doesn't sound like a positive talk though."

I get up from my chair.

"I'll keep you posted," I say to Kaidan as I make my way out of the comm room.

I have a feeling that whatever he wants to talk to me about has something to do with my history on the Citadel. Ming, Zaeed and I left quite an impression on the station. Some of it was positive, most was negative.

At least I get to see my old, trusted friend Pallin again. It's a good thing Ming still kept the incriminating data on him around.

"Airlock. Four minutes," Shepard says as she hurries past me. I don't get a chance to reply.

I walk over to the airlock and begin to idly browse the data file that Ming forwarded to me.

"So you're that guy?" A voice asks from the pilots seat of the Normandy.

"What guy?" I ask, turning to face Joker for the first time.

"You know, mysterious stranger type person," Joker shrugs. "I hear you're quite the character."

"I hear the same about you," I say, raising an eyebrow. "Joker, correct?"

"That's Mr. Joker to you," he says in a half joking tone.

"Noted," I chuckle. "I'm guessing you're the pilot."

Joker turns around to look at me.

"No, I'm actually the janitor. I spaced the pilot a few days ago."

"Huh, that would explain the shitty flying," I muse.

"The what?" Joker asks, slightly taken aback.

"I'm joking," I laugh. "Didn't mean to hit a nerve."

Joker seemingly realizes that I was only joking and begins to smirk.

"You know, there's not enough room for two smart-asses on this ship."

"I'll leave that job to you," I concede. "I don't want you to space me next."

"Smart," Joker chuckles as he turns his attention back to flying the ship into the docking clamps.

I continue to idly scroll through Ming's file's. The data on Pallin _is _actually still there, which is good. So is-

Huh, what's this?

I focus my attention on an unnamed audio file neatly filed between the endless stack of virtual files.

This is new.

The file itself only has the date and what time is was recorded time stamped onto it.

June twenty-second; nine in the morning.

That can't be right, that was during the attack.

I press play on the file and turn the volume to a level to where only I can hear it.

_"__Set the charges. Destroy the entire colony. Leave no evidence that we were here."_

My jaw practically drops to the floor as I listen to the message.

Is that…?

No way. Ming, you beautiful bastard.

Well, it looks like we've already found the proof that we were looking for.

"Ready?" Shepard says as she walks up to me.

I look to Shepard and grin.

"Yeah, definitely."

This ought to be _very_ interesting.

* * *

_Earlier than expected!_

_We're starting this one out a little slower with an interaction chapter but don't worry, we'll see more action soon enough. It feels a little surreal finally being able to traverse into game territory with this story… but it also feels great._

_I haven't decided how far off the beaten path I'm going to go with the canon just yet. I definitely will, otherwise the story would get boring pretty fast, but I don't quite yet know what I'm going to tweak and change and how. _

_We did get some posthumous help from out favorite noodle shop owner though. Things are going to get very interesting in the coming chapters._

_As always, stay tuned for more updates!_

_Don't forget to leave reviews!_

_Cheers_

_David_


	2. 1-1: The Machinist

_Welcome back! Let's get right back into it!  
_

* * *

**ACT I**

* * *

The airlock door slides open and we step out of the Normandy and onto the Citadel spaceport floor.

I only make it about ten steps before I'm stopped by a squad of C-Sec officers.

"What's this all about?" Shepard asks as the C-Sec officers begin blocking our path off the ship.

"Sorry for the disturbance ma'am," the turian officer at the front says. "We have an outstanding warrant for his arrest."

The turian points to me with his talon.

"Do you know what this is about?" Shepard asks as she looks to me. I can tell from her expression that she isn't surprised in the slightest that I'm about to be arrested.

"I have no idea," I lie.

"You sure?" Shepard asks.

"China Express," I say in a hushed tone. "I'll explain later."

Shepard raises an eyebrow at the remark and her expression turns to one of slight disappointment.

I'm pretty sure I know what this is all about. Pallin caught wind that I'm back on the Citadel. We didn't leave on very good terms last time, and I think I'm the only one left that he can prosecute for the black market operation all those years ago.

"No point in resisting though," I sigh. I raise my hands up and walk forward. Within a split second, the C-Sec officers react and forcefully wrestle my arms behind my back, making me wince in pain. This is a little overboard.

The turian who cuffs me presses me up against a wall as a human officer takes my pistol off my hip and pats me down.

I look over to Shepard and the rest of the crew, who are watching my arrest with varying degrees of shock and surprise.

"I'll get this sorted," I manage to grunt out as the turian officer swings me around and towards the parked C-Sec shuttle.

"Don't worry about me."

I get dragged the rest of the way to the police shuttle and thrown into the back. The shuttle takes off and begins to head towards the nearest C-Sec station.

This all isn't that much of a surprise to me.

I just didn't expect my past to catch up to me this _quickly_.

* * *

This interrogation room is like something out of a cheesy eighties cop movies. I'm sat in a barren room with two metal chairs, a metal table and a dimly lit tabletop lamp shining down onto the table itself.

Sadly, there's not extranet connection on my omni-tool, because waiting for whoever is going to interrogate me is extremely boring.

I think I've been sitting here for over three hours, and no one has come in yet. I can wait though, I'm in not _too_ much of a rush.

The only thing that pisses me off about this is that I, depending on how long this takes, may miss the first Council meeting. And seeing as I already have the evidence we need… I really don't want to miss it.

The door to the interrogation room slides open and a lone turian with piercing, poison colored green eyes walks in. White face paint accents his mandibles and lower part of his face.

He wordlessly sits down in the chair across from me and begins to eye me.

"You know, it wasn't smart coming back to the Citadel," he says as he flexes his mandibles in a grimace.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say, playing dumb.

"You're looking at some serious charges," the turian continues. "If you're proven guilty, you're going away for a long time."

I set my elbows on the table and lean forward.

"Then please enlighten me on what I seem to have _allegedly_ done," I say, putting extra emphasis on the word allegedly.

The turian protrudes a datapad from a small bag set against one of the legs of the table.

"Illegal arms dealing, drug trafficking, extortion, assault…" he begins to read.

The turian pauses and looks at me.

"Well, go on," I say. "I'm sure the list isn't done."

"Manslaughter, destruction of property, arson, possession of illegal firearms, explosives, toxins, murder."

The turian sets the datapad to the side and turns his attention back to me.

"With all these charges, you're facing about five life sentences."

"I can safely say that I did not commit any of those crimes."

The turian scoffs.

"We already have all the proof we need to prosecute you on the minor charges. We know that you committed the other crimes."

"Define _know_," I ask as I interlace my fingers on the table.

"Witness testimonies," the turian retorts smugly. "We can place you at the scene of dozens of crimes. You were just smart enough to not leave any traces."

"Wow," I scoff in return, unimpressed. "So you only have alleged witness testimonies but no actual, hard evidence."

I lean back in my chair.

"I'd like to talk to the Executor," I say, changing the subject. "No doubt he's the one that issued the warrant."

"You are in no position to make any sort of demands," the turian deadpans.

"Oh, but I am," I say, raising a hand. "The Executor and I are very good friends."

The turian detective raises his right brow-plate.

"I'm not going to be talking to anyone else," I add. "I don't need to say anything else seeing as you apparently have enough evidence to already lock me up."

I lean forward again.

"Lock me up if you have to, just make sure to tell the Executor that he'll be heading down the same road I seem to be heading."

The detective and I begin staring each other down for a while up until he realizes that I'm being dead serious.

"I can see this is going to be a little more difficult," the turian says as he gets up.

"You sit tight."

The turian leaves the interrogation room wordlessly.

Words can't describe how lucky I am to have the incriminating data on Pallin. If the detective passes the message up the chain, I'm pretty sure I'll be cleared for the time being.

Who's to say that I'm not just going to upload the evidence onto the extranet anyways? I don't like people throwing wrenches into my plans. I could be testifying against Saren in front of the Council right now, but I just _had_ to get arrested.

What am I saying, I shouldn't even complain about this; it was only a matter of time until my past would catch up to me… and it just happened sooner rather than later.

I spend the next hour actually sifting through Pallin's data for the first time; as always, Ming's smashes all expectations.

Recordings, documents, pictures… you name it he's done it.

The door slides open just as I close my omni-tool, and the turian detective steps in; he looks livid.

"I don't know who the hell you are and what you did," he begins, flexing his mandibles in anger. "But Pallin wants to speak with you."

"What a surprise," I grin, springing up from the chair. The door opens and two C-Sec officers step in, one with cuffs.

My hands get placed behind my back once again as I'm lead out of the interrogation room and towards the shuttle that brought me here.

I guess I'm being flown straight to Pallin.

* * *

The door to the shuttle slides open and I step onto the Presidium floor, whistling in amazement in the process. Even during my time on the Citadel, I never actually went to the Presidium. Setting up a black market there didn't seem like it'd be the smartest idea.

It's quite amazing to look at actually, the circular shape arching upwards seems to defy gravity as shuttles zip to and from locations.

"Eyes front," one of the C-Sec officers says as he gives me a slight push towards Pallin's office.

I'll have time to sightsee later.

The rest of the way to Pallin's office doesn't take long.

One of the C-Sec officers presses a sequence of keys on a keypad and the door slides open; I'm promptly led inside by the officers and the detective and come face to face with my old friend.

"Uncuff him," Pallin orders, and the C-Sec officers exchange unsure glances.

"If you think he's going to do anything rash in my office on the Presidium…" he trails off as he glares at me.

I can feel the cuffs on my hands slide off.

"Now, wait outside," Pallin says to the C-Sec personnel.

"Sir, I'm not leaving you alone wi-"

"That's an order, Chellick," Pallin interrupts.

I look at the detective and shrug, but he only grunts in frustration as he stomps out of Pallin's office.

The rest of the C-Sec officers slink out of the office and the door quietly slides shut.

"I have to hand it to you," I say as I walk over to Pallin and sit down on the chair in front of his desk. "Bold move trying to arrest me."

"Cut the shit," Pallin snaps. "Why are you here and what do you want."

"Remember our little endeavor?" I ask. "You know, China Express?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Pallin says, shuffling in his seat uncomfortably.

"Well, I sure as hell do," I say flatly. "And so does Zeha's and Ming's data."

"That data perished in the warehouse," he says, full of conviction. "You have nothing on me."

"That's where you're wrong," I grin. "If you thought that we wouldn't make copies of the data, then you underestimated us to a higher degree than I thought was even possible."

"What the hell do you want then," Pallin grunts. "Are you going to extort me?"

"No," I say, raising up a hand. "I just want to ask you for a small favor."

"Small," Pallin scoffs. "I highly doubt that."

"Just drop the bullshit charges," I shrug. "Then we can peacefully coexist."

Pallin lets out a severely sarcastic laugh.

"You know those charges aren't bullshit," he says.

"Maybe, maybe not," I say as I open my omni-tool. "But, like I said, if I'm going down then I'm taking you down with me."

Pallin unholsters a pistol he seemingly had under his desk and points it at my face.

"And what if I just shoot you right now?"

"Come on Pallin," I say, unimpressed. "We're both smarter than this. You know that there are multiple copies of the data. There are _multiple_ contingencies in place."

Pallin continues to point his pistol at me.

"Do it then," I say. "Try it out and see if the data doesn't get uploaded to the extranet as soon as I expire."

We being staring each other down, but Pallin lowers his pistol after a few seconds that feel like hours.

"You won't get away with extortion like this for long," Pallin sneers.

"As long as you're here and I'm here, I think I might."

Pallin growls in frustration.

"I can't have all the charges dropped," Pallin says in resignation.

"If it's absolutely necessary, I can live with a few charges," I say after a few moments of thought. "Destruction of property, maybe possession of an illegal firearm."

Pallin lets out a long, deep sigh.

"You're an evil son of a bitch," Pallin says.

"Coming from the one who ordered the hit on Helso," I say, shaking my head. "We're both cut from the same wood, Pallin… you just don't like getting your hands dirty."

Pallin looks at me and shakes his head in resignation.

"I'll make a few calls," he sneers. "Now, get out of my office."

Pallin presses a button on his desk and the C-Sec officers step back in, including Chellick.

"Get him out of here," Pallin says, waving a talon through the air.

"Gladly," Chellick says as he cuffs me again and begins leading me out of Pallin's office.

"See you around Pallin," I say, feigning cheeriness as I exit the office.

I'm lead back to the shuttle and sat inside; within seconds, the shuttle lifts back off and begins its journey back to the C-Sec station.

I hope Pallin can work his magic, seeing as we're _such good_ friends.

* * *

I check the time on my omni-tool as the door to my holding cell opens. If Chellick could have slammed the door open, he would have.

I've only been here for forty-five minutes. Pallin works fast.

"What game are you playing?" Chellick spits.

"I don't know what you mean," raising my hands in defense.

Chellick glares at me.

"You're free to go," he continues, tone laced with malice. "All but one of the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence."

Chellick puts extra but sarcastic emphasis on the words 'lack of evidence'.

"Well, what a shame," I say as I stand up.

"Destruction of property stuck, so you'll have to pay a fine."

"That I can do," I shrug. I try to push past Chellick, but he blocks my path by extending his right talon into the door frame.

"I don't know who the hell you are," he growls. "But I'm keeping my eye on you."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say flatly. "Now, please let me through."

Chellick relents his vice like grip of the door frame blocking my exit and I pass through without much more difficulty. I just need to find my pistol.

That problems solves itself as I walk by a human C-Sec officers behind a counter that's enclosed by glass. Hanging on a rack behind him, I spot my pistol.

"Hey!" I exclaim while tapping on the glass, getting the C-Sec officers attention.

He sluggishly turns around.

"Just released?" he asks as he begins to sift through the contents of a datapad.

I nod.

"Ah," he replies. "Lucky bastard."

I guess he found my file.

The C-Sec officer takes my pistol off the rack and puts it in a drawer. He closes said drawer and presses a button, making the drawer slider out onto my side of the glass.

"The security lock will unlock itself once you exit the station," the officer adds. "Don't want you shooting up the place."

"Wasn't planning on doing that anyway," I say as I holster my pistol.

"You never know," the human shrugs. He turns around and goes back to doing what he was doing beforehand.

As soon as I exit the station, the small security lock whirrs to life and detaches itself from my pistol, dropping to the ground in the progress.

Right, time to get things back on track.

I open my omni-tool and ring Shepard. After three rings, Shepard picks up.

_"__David is everything alright?" _she asks.

"I got everything sorted out," I reply. "I'll explain everything later. Did you already talk to the Council?"

_"__No, we're still talking with Ambassador Udina. He wants to talk to you before the hearing."_

Good, this little detour didn't ruin as much as I thought it would.

"I'll be there as soon as I ca-"

My sentence trails off as I spot a masked figure weaving through the crowds of the ward that I'm on. The figure is holding their arm in pain whilst looking back every few seconds.

I squint my eyes and begin to follow the entity appear and disappear as it bobs and weaves in and out of my field of view.

_"__David?" _Shepard voice breaks me out of my quasi-trance.

"Uh… yeah, one sec."

That looks oddly like a quarian. A few meters behind the quarian, I spot a turian dressed in black shadowing following their every move, stepping where they're stepping while not looking anywhere else.

Something doesn't seem right here.

_"__Hello?" _

"I'll call you back, something seems off here."

I begin to walk towards the quarian and the turian trailing them.

_"__Off? what do you mean?" _Shepard asks.

"Someone's injured and they're being followed by someone else," I answer. "Looks suspicious."

_"__Where are you?"_

"Tayseri Ward, close to Dilinaga Concert Hall. I'll call back once everything is sorted."

I cut the call before Shepard has a chance to reply; I might be trampling on toes again, but if it is who I think it is who is being followed, it's worth the risk.

The quarian takes a sharp turn towards off the main street on the ward and onto a small side street. My suspicions are confirmed as the turian takes the exact same sharp turn.

I fall into step a few meters behind the turian as I begin to follow him, trying my best to keep out of sight as he seems just as paranoid as the quarian.

Right, I need to try and play this smart. I can't alert the turian or the quarian, otherwise things might escalate… fast.

The turian looks back, and I instantly look down and open my omni-tool, pretending to be idly browsing through the extranet. After a few seconds, I look back up and see that the turian has turned his attention towards the quarian again.

All of a sudden, the turian takes another sharp turn, cutting through the flow of the crowd and to the right towards an alleyway. I fall a few more steps back and wait for both of my targets to disappear into the alley before making my way towards it as well.

I lean up against a wall and peek inside the alley, faintly making out the silhouette of the turian reaching into a bag slung over his shoulder.

Before stepping into the alleyway, I open my omni-tool and get ready to activate my omni blade. As quietly as I can, I begin to shadow the turians path down the alleyway.

"You're tough to catch," the turian sneers as he comes to a standstill right after he rounds a corner. I duck behind a conveniently placed dumpster and peer over the top.

"Now, you have something that belongs to my boss."

"You'll get nothing out of me," an accented voice retorts.

"Don't worry," the turian grunts. "I can just cut the information out of you."

I need to act, now.

As fast and as quietly as I can, I rush out from behind the dumpster and activate my omni-blade. I whip around the corner and see the turian standing a few feet away from a quarian; he's holding a long knife and a pistol.

Just as the turian raises his gun, I cover the last of the ground separating us. The omni-blade pushes its way through the turians neck with ease as I cover his mouth, stopping him from screaming.

I pull out the blade and quietly set the alien down, leaning his back against the right wall of the alleyway.

"Are you alright?" I ask as I deactivate my omni-blade.

"Who are you?"

I look up and focus on the quarian sitting against the wall, having to suppress a smile in the progress.

Yeah, that's definitely Tali. It's hard to not recognize the voice.

"My name Is David," I answer. "I'm here to help."

"Who sent you?" Tali says, voice still full of suspicion.

"That's not important right now," I say as reassuringly as I can. "I just saw you being followed. You looked like you were in trouble, so I thought I'd help."

I can feel the mistrust radiating through Tali's visor.

"Listen," I begin. "I can explain everything on the way. We need to get you to a doctor."

Tali doesn't say anything as she keeps staring at me.

"Your suit is punctured, and you need to get to a doctor," I say decisively as I hold out my right hand. "Either you come with me, or you can go it alone."

Tali looks at the wound on her arm, then at me. After a few moments, she thankfully accepts my offer for help and takes my hand, pulling herself up.

"What's your name?" I ask idly as we begin making out way out of the alleyway.

"Tali, why do you want to know?"

I look back at Tali and roll my eyes.

"Right," I say. "I get that you don't trust me, but that won't get you anywhere in the long run."

Just as we exit the alley, my omni-tool rings again.

I pick up the call instantly.

"Shepard, everything is sorted," I say, trying to negate any chastisement that may come my way.

_"__You're going to have a lot of explaining to do once you get here," _Shepard deadpans.

_"__Udina is livid that you're making him, let alone the Council, wait."_

"Tell him that I am truly sorry," I say with a hint of sarcasm. "I need to bring someone to the doctor first."

_"__What did you get yourself into this time?" _Shepard sighs.

"Meet me at the doctor's if you can," I say. "It's a very long story."

Shepard groans.

_"__Tell me where you're going, and I'll meet you there." _

"I'll send you my location once we're there," I say. "Thank you."

Shepard cuts the call, and I look back to Tali, who's _still _eyeing me nervously.

"That was a friend from the Alliance," I say. "You're safe now."

"Why are you helping me?" Tali asks suddenly after a long bout of silence.

"I'm a good Samaritan I guess," I chuckle mirthlessly. "Like I said, I saw that you were in trouble. No one else seemed to be eager to help."

As expected, Tali and I descend into silence once again, but it's short lived as I spot a doctor's office down the road.

Before we enter, I send Shepard my location via my omni-tool. Now I just need to somehow get the information on Saren out of Tali without coming off as too precognitive.

Luckily, the waiting room to the practice is empty as Tali and I stumble inside.

An asari nurse looks up and spots us.

"Right this way," she says with an eerie degree of calmness. I guess she's seen everything you can imagine in her long lifespan. The asari leads us into the doctor's office.

"Jaza, get my dextro disinfectant please," the human doctor says to the asari nurse as he gets up from behind his desk. The asari nods and leaves the room.

"Please sit," the doctor says to Tali as he motions for her to sit down on the medical cot.

Tali hesitantly steps forward and takes a seat.

"Now," the doctor begins as he starts examining the wound. "How did you get yourself into this mess?"

"I…" Tali hesitates. "Found something I wasn't supposed to find."

"What do you mean?" the doctor asks. The nurse walks in and hands the doctor a small pump-spray bottle. He sprays it on Tali's wound and she flinches in pain.

"I know, I'm sorry" the doctor says in a fatherly way. "This stuff has a nasty bite."

I spot a chair at the other end of the room and have a seat.

"I saw her being followed by a shady looking turian," I interject. "Looked like she was being followed."

"I was," Tali says, wincing ever so. "I've been on the run for two days."

The doctor looks at me with a concerned expression.

"Who've you been running from?" the doctor continues to prod.

I lean forward in my chair.

"I found some incriminating data on a Spectre," Tali answers. "His men have been hunting me since."

"Well, you're safe now," I say from across the room.

"How can you be safe from a Spectre?" Tali shoots back.

"There are ways," I grunt.

"Hold still please," the doctor interrupts. "I don't want to slip with the stapler."

The doctor grabs a medical stapler from a nearby metal table, making me smile internally. I remember Garrett using one of those on me nearly a decade ago; it was one of my first wounds as well.

Tali yelps in pain as the first of the staples enters her arm.

"Why exactly is a Spectre after you?" I ask after the last of the staples are in. "You must've found something _really_ shady."

I know I'm just making idle conversation about topics I already know, but I need to try and obtain this information somewhat believably.

"I…" Tali hesitates.

Before Tali can say anything else, the door to the office slides open. I instinctively grab the pistol in my holster but relent on the grip when I see that Kaidan and Shepard walk through the door.

"Can I help you?" the doctor says with mild offense.

"Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy," Shepard answers. "We were asked to come here."

The doctor looks to retort, but just lets out a deep breath after a few seconds of thought.

"What happened?" Shepard asks as she turns to me.

"He saved my life," Tali says from behind, suddenly coming to my defense.

"Long story short," I say sheepishly. "This quarian has something she shouldn't have, and people are after her for it."

Shepard raises an eyebrow as she turns to Tali.

"What exactly do you have that warrants people coming after you?"

"All done," the doctor interrupts again as he finishes placing a bandage around Tali's arm. "Now, please continue this discussion elsewhere. I have more patients to tend to."

I get up and walk towards Shepard.

"I think we should bring her to the embassy," I say in a hushed tone. "She said she found the data on a Spectre."

"She said that?" Shepard replies quietly. "You think it's Saren?"

"I don't know," I say, shaking my head. "But my gut is telling me that it is. I also found something on Saren thanks to Ming's info."

"And when were you going to tell me about that?"

"I was planning on it," I shrug. "But getting arrested kind of threw a wrench in that."

"Let's get you somewhere safe," Shepard smiles as she turns to Tali. "You must be exhausted."

Tali shakily gets up.

"Kaidan, take point," Shepard orders. "David, bring up the rear."

"Thanks doc," I say as I pass the irritated man on my way out of the office.

"How far is the shuttle?" I ask Shepard, who's in front of me.

"Four minute walk. Not far."

As we exit the building, I begin to scan the area. For some reason I can't help but feel that we're being watched. The street is as crowded as it was before, but something still feels off.

Staying close to the shops, we begin pushing our way through the crowds and towards the shuttle.

I look upwards and to the right, towards the upper level of the ward we're on. I lock eyes with a Turian who's keeping exactly our pace, but he looks away a split second later. A few steps behind him, another turian and a human are walking about the same speed Shepard and I are walking; the only suspicious thing is that they're looking at us every few seconds.

"Shepard," I grunt. "I think we're being followed."

"Where?" she asks, keeping her head looking straight ahead.

"Up one level, on our right."

"Kaidan, eyes peeled," Shepard says as she holds two fingers to her ears. I didn't notice the small headset she was wearing.

"We might have company."

I lay my hand on the grip of my pistol as I begin to scan the area again. Sure enough, I spot another shady character standing on a bridge connecting both sides of the upper level of the wards. He too is looking right at us.

"On the bridge ahead of us."

"Seen," Shepard nods. "Be ready for anything."

My heart begins to beat faster as I can feel my body evenly distributing adrenaline.

"How much further?" I ask, tension clear in my voice.

"Just up ahead," Shepard says. "If anything happens, it's after we pass under the bridge."

The road we're pushing down is getting more and more crowded the closer we get to the shuttle, making walking more difficult.

I take a last peek up at the bridge before we pass under it. The turian that was initially standing there by himself now has a salarian next to him. I clench my hand around the grip of my pistol.

I begin to feel a weird tingling sensation at the back of my neck after we've passed under the bridge. I usually only get this feeling when…

I'm being watched.

My gut feeling instantly starts screaming at me to turn around; I comply without hesitation.

In a quick motion, I whip myself around and come face to face with a human dressed in the same clothes as the turian in the alleyway.

We lock eyes and he begins to smile maliciously.

Before I can blink, the human has pulled a knife and begins to charge at me.

In the same moment, I pull my gun and take aim. The human stabs the knife forward and I manage to swipe the attack aside with my metal arm.

The hit knocks the human off balance, giving me the chance to take aim. I squeeze the trigger and the mass effect round is released with a thunderous boom.

With a wet crunch, the round hits the human in the eye. A few drops of the assassins blood stain my face, but most of his brains are scattered behind him as the back of his head gives out in chunky, red mess.

The ward goes silent for a second as everyone stops what they're doing. I turn around and look at Shepard, who's eyes grow wide with realization.

"Everyone dow-!"

Shepard's voice is drowned out by

A hail of gunfire erupting from the upper level of the ward and down onto us.

I manage to dive behind a metal park bench before the mass panic has a chance to erupt. Any semblance of order and cohesion is lost between Shepard, Kaidan, Tali and I as civilians begin to frantically dive over each other in search for cover.

My heart is beating out of my chest as I try to peer over the bench, only to be pinned down by another hail of fire.

"FUCK!" I yell as I realize that I'm hopelessly outgunned in this position. There's no way I can get anywhere. They were waiting for us and we walked right into their fucking trap.

Over the gunfire, I can hear sirens begin to wail.

I look up and see C-Sec shuttles that have begun to swarm the area, some hovering above the ground as they begin to return fire on the attackers.

Just as fast as the gunfire broke out, it's disappeared again as the ward descends into silence.

The silence is cut short once again as the cries for help begin. I stand up and take a look around the area, becoming nauseous in the process. There's at least three dozen bodies lying on the ground, and the metal floor of the ward has turned into a brown mess from the different colors of blood mixing together.

"David!" a voice shouts. I look to my left and see Shepard; she has Kaidan propped up on her shoulder.

Kaidan is holding his holding his stomach as a steady stream of blood trickles through the finger on his hand.

More sirens cry out as the first ambulances arrive on the scene.

I run over to Shepard and administer a dose of medi-gel onto Kaidan's wound.

"I'll be fine," Kaidan wheezes as Shepard sets him down against a metal flowerpot.

A cold chill runs down my spine and my stomach ties itself into a knot as I look around.

Shepard and I seem to have the same thought as we begin to frantically search the area of the attack. This can't be happening.

Where's Tali?

* * *

_This one was a doozy to write. I think I started over about four times before I had something that I was happy with._

_If there's one thing that annoyed me about the first game, it's the part where you first get to Chora's Den and are ambushed outside by two of Saren's assassins. You take care of them and no one bats an eye. _

_Well, that isn't the case here as we already take our first sharp turn off the canon._

_As always, don't forget to review the chapter! Reviews are what keeps me going and motivate me to keep writing._

_Anyways, tune in next time!_

_Cheers_

_David_


	3. 1-2: The Detective

_Where do I even begin? It has definitely been a while again, that's for sure! Now, if you're wondering where I have been, it's been a long road. Shortly after I published my last chapter, I actually suffered quite a serious skiing accident._

_Instead of being transported to the ME universe however, I was transported to the nearest hospital. I'm fine now, so there's no need to worry, but due to the physiotherapy I had to go through I had lost my motivation to write on this story for a bit._

_What followed next was, you guessed it, another move._

_Due to me starting an internship in another city in Austria, I packed up all my things and moved from one end of the country to another._

_Turns out, that was also short lived, as two weeks after starting my internship, I was sent into home office due to COVID-19. I decided to fly home back to Germany, so I don't have to social distance in a completely new city by myself._

_And that's where I currently am. I've been working from home for the past five weeks now, and in that time, I reread Reduced Mass and the two chapters of Reduced Mass 2. This gave me the motivation I needed to actually work on this story again as I left you guys on an unfair cliff-hanger for a few months._

_Anyway, I hope all of you are safe and healthy!_

_Let's get back into the chapter._

* * *

I wipe what seems to be sweat off my forehead, but when looking down at my gloved hand, I see that it's stained red. The adrenaline is slowly wearing off as I defeatedly crouch down and begin to survey the scene of carnage in front of me.

The wail of dozens of sirens is slowly blending into one continuous droning sound that feels like it has begun to liquify my brain.

"David," a familiar voice says out of the corner of my eye.

"David," it repeats.

I blink some of the blood and tears of strain out of my eyes as I look to my right and see Shepard standing up tall and resolutely.

"David you need to get up."

I try to reply, but it just comes out as a half-hearted grunt.

My eyes skip from corpse to corpse as I spot increasingly more and more paramedics scurrying about the crime scene. In that moment I realize that at least half of the 'sirens' I heard are actually screams from the wounded victims in front of me.

Before I can say anything else, Shepard reaches her right arm under my shoulder and pulls me into a standing position.

"Are you alright?"

I look to Shepard again and see the determination in her eyes.

Slowly, my wits are coming back to me.

"I… yeah, I'm fine," I manage to croak out. "Just a little shaken up."

My eyes wander past Shepard and lock onto an ambulance shuttle. The two paramedics have begun loading a stretcher into the back with an all to familiar face resting on it.

Shepard seems to know what I'm looking at without having to glance back.

"Kaidan will be fine," she says reassuringly.

"Where's Tali?" I ask, eyes locking with Shepard's once more.

"Lost in the panic," Shepard says. "I had it under control, but I was knocked over by a civilian trying to get away from the gunfire."

"And Tali?" I continue to prod.

"I lost her in the stampede of people separating us. I was afraid that she was going to get trampled, but someone must have scooped her up in the chaos."

"Shit," I curse under my breath. "We need to find her:"

"The whole station is on lockdown," Shepard says. "They could not have gotten far."

"Excuse me," a flanging voice interrupts us.

We both turn around in unison and spot an unarmed C-Sec officer standing in front of us, backed by at least four more officers in full combat gear.

"You witnessed the attack, correct?" the turian asks courteously but sternly.

I nod.

"Then I need to ask you some questions," the turian continues. "If you would please follow me somewhere quieter. And please surrender your weapons for the time being."

Shepard and I exchange a quick glance, and we both seem to silently conclude that the C-Sec officer isn't really giving us a choice in the matter.

"Of course," Shepard breaks the tense silence.

The turian widens his mandibles in a slight smile as he motions the other officers to advance with his talon.

Our guns are taken off us as two C-Sec officers' step behind us and bring up the rear.

"Please, follow me," The turian says as he begins walking towards a large C-Sec shuttle parked a few meters away from the scene of the attack.

* * *

The door to the shuttle hisses closed behind us and silences all of the noise coming in from the outside.

What looked like a normal Kodiak shuttle from the outside, looks like a small office on the inside.

The part of the shuttle where most of the crew would sit across from one another has been repurposed into a small field office.

The turian takes a seat behind a small desk on the far end of the compartment and motions for us to sit on the two stools in front of him.

"Please, have a seat."

Shepard and I don't hesitate as we take our seats in front of the turian.

"I'm detective Cassius," he begins as he types away on a small computer terminal. "I was put in charge of gathering witness testimonies."

I breathe out a small sigh of relief.

Knowing my luck, I was expecting this to be an interrogation to judge whether I was responsible for this attack.

"Now," he continues, "What brings you to the scene of the crime?"

"We were escorting a person that is of interest to the Alliance to the human embassy," Shepard begins without skipping a beat.

"Person of interest?" the turian asks, raising a brow plate.

I'm not used to being honest with the law, but I think it's for the best at the moment.

"This person has information on the Eden Prime attack, and we were going to take them in for questioning," Shepard nods.

"Quite interesting," the detective muses as he turns his attention back onto the computer terminal. "Where is this 'person of interest' now?

"We believe the reason for the attack was due to the person of interest," I interject. "She disappeared after the attack."

Cassius looks up from his terminal.

"And… what exactly does this 'person of interest' look like?"

"Well…, they're not hard to miss," I say. "It's a female quarian."

Cassius furrows his brow plates.

"Your person of interest is a… quarian?"

"Yes, it's a quarian," I repeat myself.

"Are you sure you weren't just being swindled?" Cassius asks, half amused, half bemused. "Maybe they took the chance during the attack to run off."

"I'm certain we're not being 'swindled'," I say, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word 'swindled'.

"Huh," Cassius verbally shrugs. "You never know with quarians."

I know that quarians are regularly looked at with suspicion, but I didn't expect a C-Sec detective to engage in full blown racism.

"At any rate," Shepard grunts, breaking the short silence. "The Alliance will need C-Sec's help in locating the quarian."

"I do not possess the authority to make that decision," Cassius says flatly. "I am here to collect witness testimonies. I suggest you submit a missing person report at your nearest C-Sec office."

I can feel my mood begin to sour.

"Now, there are a lot more witnesses to talk to, but I will get back to your role in this shooting once I have a clearer picture of what happened."

The door to the shuttle hisses as the hermetic seal to the outside world is broken.

"Your weapons are outside and ready for collection."

I guess that's our cue to leave.

Shepard and I wordlessly leave the small makeshift shuttle-office and collect our weapons from one of the C-Sec guards outside.

Once we're out of earshot of the guards, I let out a frustrated sigh.

"We need to find Tali," I say. "I don't care how, but we have to."

"What exactly can we do?" Shepard asks as we begin to make our way to the shuttle that she and Kaidan arrived on.

"I don't know," I say, anger dissipating somewhat. "I can try and contact some old C-Sec friends, maybe they can help us out."

"What about the missing person report?" Shepard asks.

"Do you really think anyone is going to care about a missing quarian?" I retort. "Even the detective doesn't really think highly of quarians. Besides, she probably doesn't have any family on the station that actually care for her."

Shepard sighs.

"You're right," she says, hint of resignation in her voice. "We'll have to think about this."

"We also need to act fast," I add. "The station may be on lockdown, but it's a huge station. Those rats could be hiding anywhere; hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they're arranging for transport off the station as we speak."

"Before we can do anything, we'll need to talk to Udina and Anderson about this."

Right, I forgot about that.

Shepard and I reach the shuttle and begin making our way back to the embassy.

* * *

We enter Udina's office.

Both him and Anderson are looking out over the Presidium and they turn around almost in unison.

"We heard about what happened," Anderson says with a hint of worry lining his tone.

"You should really get some stitches."

I prod the gash over my eye with my right hand and wince in pain slightly. Most of the blood has dried, sealing the wound for now. I do need to get it stitched up soon.

"Do you know how much trouble you have caused," Udina's distinct voice sounds, dripping in anger.

Charming as ever.

"I apologize for making you wait Ambassador," I say, putting on a tone so offensively polite that it could be mistaken for satire.

Truth is, I could never really stand Udina in the game save for a few situations but showing it too much now would just be counterproductive.

"We ran into some difficulties."

"I do not like to be mocked," he says disdainfully. "I heard about you and your history. I am surprised you have not been arrested and stuck in prison yet."

Anderson furrows his brows. I guess he doesn't know what Udina is talking about.

"All charges were cleared," I say, swapping my polite tone for a flat one. "_I'm _surprised that the executor hasn't told you about that yet."

Udina sneers, but before he can say anything, Shepard steps in.

"We found someone with more information on Saren," she says. "We we're escorting her to the embassy here before we were ambushed by what seemed to have been Saren's men."

Udina's mood seems to lighten somewhat.

"Sit," he says, and I realize now that the four of us are standing across from each other in a very Mexican standoff kind of way.

"How did you find this… informant?" Udina asks skeptically.

"I saw her being followed," I start. "She seemed like she was in desperate need for help and I decided to tail them."

"Who's she?" Anderson asks.

"Tali, the 'informant'," I say, air quoting the last word of my sentence. "She's a quarian."

Udina suppresses what seems to be a scoff.

"How does a quarian have evidence on the attack of Eden Prime?" Udina asks.

"Look, I don't know," I sigh. "She told me she is in possession of something that she isn't supposed to have, and she's been on the run ever since."

"She also said that she has incriminating information on a council spectre," Shepard adds.

"So, either this is the most astronomical coincidence in the history of coincidences… or luck may be on our side."

"The only problem is that she was scooped up by Saren's men during the attack," Shepard says. "And now we need to find her."

"You are certain about this?" Anderson asks.

"My gut feeling has never failed me Captain," I nod. "C-Sec isn't willing to help formally."

"I do not like this, Anderson," Udina grunts.

"Neither do I," he replies. "But I trust their judgement."

Udina scrunches up his nose in thought.

"I will give you twenty-four hours," he relents as he stands up. "I can stall the council until tomorrow."

"Now, whatever you have planned… I do not want to hear it," he says as he walks back to the railing overlooking the inner presidium.

"You are dismissed."

Honestly, I wasn't expecting any leeway from Udina. This is a refreshing surprise. Although him not wanting to be involved in the planning is a typical move a politician would make.

If anything goes wrong, he can claim innocence and throw us under the bus.

Can't say I'm super surprised.

"Meet me in the Normandy comm room in one hour," Anderson says as he, Shepard and I leave Udina's office. Before Shepard and I can add anything, he walks off and towards the shuttle parking area of the human embassy.

"Where should we start?" Shepard asks.

"I can make a few calls," I say. "There's at least one person I know that has _some _reach in C-Sec."

"I can put in the missing person report," Shepard says. "Let's at least try to spread out eggs into multiple baskets."

"Sounds good," I nod. "I'm going to grab a bite to eat, I haven't eaten anything yet today. Meet you at the Normandy?"

"Now that I think about it, I'm starving," Shepard grins. "Besides, you still owe me at least a seven-course meal."

"Can I split the seven-course meal into seven one course meals?" I ask sheepishly, and Shepard laughs.

"I think that sounds fair," She says. "I know just the place for a quick bite."

* * *

"Come on, pick up the damn call," I grunt while I stick another piece of sushi in my mouth. Shepard and I took a shuttle to the ward that the Normandy is docked at, so we'd have more time to eat.

There's a small sushi restaurant right outside of the Normandy's that's surprisingly good and cheap. We're sat at a small table that's about as far away as it can be from any prying ears.

Before that however, I had Dr. Chakwas stitch up the gash over my eye.

"You sure she didn't just block you?" Shepard jokes as takes another sip of tea.

"I sure as hell hope not," I chuckle.

This is the third time I've tried calling Marinia.

I've been keeping sporadic contact with her after we met at the C-Sec party in 2177. We went on a few dates, but we realized shortly after that it wouldn't really work out that way.

Besides, the entire assassinating the Executor and having to flee the station kind of got in the way of everything.

We call each other around twice a year. Once on my birthday, once on hers.

_"__I heard you the first two times," _Marinia says, slightly annoyed. _"I was in a meeting."_

"Shit, sorry," I say. "You could've sent a text."

_"__I did," _she grunts.

"I didn't see it, my bad," I say as I look at my omni tool, spotting the unread message in the process.

_"__Doesn't matter," _Marinia says, tone lightening up a bit. _"What's up? It's not my birthday so I'm kind of surprised you're calling."_

"Yeah, something's come up and I need your help."

_"__Shoot."_

"I need your help in finding a missing quarian," I begin, raising the volume of the call a bit so Shepard can listen better.

"It's related to the… well to the terrorist attack."

_"__Hmph," _Marie grunts. _"What exactly do you need?"_

"Is there any way that you can pull some strings to get someone to look into the disappearance? The quarian has some information I desperately need, and I can't really try and find her on a station as large as this without C-Sec's help."

_"__I can try to talk to some of the detectives I'm close with. There's not much else I can do from the special response department."_

"That would be great!" I exclaim. "Anything helps. We also put in a missing person report, in case you want to work with that."

_"__Not many quarians on the station, so it shouldn't be difficult to spot one in case I get the investigation rolling. Vak' owes me a drink anyway so I'll hold it over his head."_

"Thank you, Marie," I say. "Gimme' a call once you have any updates."

_"__Will do."_

Marinia cuts the call.

"Who was that?" Shepard asks as she leans back in her chair.

"Old C-Sec friend. Met her around six years ago at one of the C-Sec parties at the China Express. As far as I know, she's still special response lead."

Shepard whistles in mock amazement.

"Friends in high places," she jokes.

"If only you knew," I laugh. "I had an interesting time on the Citadel when I was here last time."

"Do tell," Shepard says, leaning forward in interest.

"Well… if I must," I sigh dramatically.

"Working at the best restaurant in the Citadel at the time _did _have its benefits."

"You still haven't told me what happened at China Express," Shepard presses. "And I'm still pissed I never got to eat there."

I look around to see if any patron of the restaurant is sitting too close.

"We were robbed," I say, also leaning forward. "A bunch of shady looking turians just waltzed in and killed the security guards in the front:"

"Here's the kicker though," I say, now in a more hushed tone.

"The turians were undercover cops."

Shepard furrows her brows.

"Why would undercover C-Sec officers rob you?"

"Ming had some dirt on the executor and was holding it over his head."

"What kind of dirt is worth robbing the most packed restaurant at the Citadel over?" Shepard asks perplexedly.

"Shady stuff," I say. "Shady enough to warrant an attack that killed a few innocent people."

"You still have the data, don't you?"

I nod.

"I'm pretty sure it's in Ming's files he left me."

"Well, I hope you do the right thing and release that data once you _do _find it."

"Ming's file is huge," I shrug. "If I do find it, I'll let you know."

I'm not going to release that data. It's the only thing keeping me out of jail on this station. If Pallin is gone, I don't have any reach left in C-Sec and I'm one hundred percent sure Pallin will drag me down with him in case that ever were to happen.

That reminds me, I should send Pallin a nice mail. I'm sure he can help me out in finding Tali.

* * *

"David, Shepard, have a seat," Anderson says as we walk into the Normandy's comm room.

"We have a lot to discuss."

Shepard and I wordlessly take a seat in across from each other while Anderson is standing in the middle of the room.

"Any new leads?" he asks, and I nod.

"I contacted an old C-Sec friend, and she may be able to forward our predicament somewhere where it won't get lost in mounds of paperwork."

Anderson nods and taps his chin in thought.

"We also submitted a missing person report," Shepard adds. "Not a lot of quarians around the Citadel, so that may help."

"It's a start," Anderson muses. "But it's not enough."

He begins pacing back and forth.

"There's one more lead that I can think of. There's an old C-Sec officer by the name of Harkin."

Oh lord, I should have seen this coming.

"He's a disgusting son of a bitch, but he may be able to help if we make it worth his while."

"Bribe a C-Sec officer?" Shepard asks, clearly surprised. "That sounds pretty illegal."

"He's technically not a C-Sec officer anymore," Anderson says flatly. "He was suspended a month ago for drinking on the job."

"Then how is he able to help us?" I ask.

"Oh, he won't be able to help us the way you mean," Anderson adds. "He may know someone that can help us."

"It's worth a shot," Shepard concedes. "If nothing works, we still have the witness testimony from the dock worker to go off of."

I grunt in disdain.

"We need to save Tali before we can even think about the evidence she may have. I can't imagine what they might do to her if they leave the station."

"We better get to work then," Anderson interjects before Shepard has a chance to speak up. "Harkin is usually at Chora's Den at this time, so you may be able to catch him there."

Anderson looks to me.

"If your C-Sec contact has any news, let me know immediately."

"I'll be in my office should you need anything."

Anderson leaves the comm room, leaving only Shepard and I sitting across from each other.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," Shepard deadpans.

"I know," I say apologetically. "I'm just on edge. It's been a few hours since her disappearance and we haven't gotten anything done."

"I've never seen you so invested in something like this before," Shepard points out.

"I'm not sure why I am either," I lie. "I guess seeing someone in a position like the one she was in reminded me of myself when I was back on Chalkhos."

I stand up.

"We should really go talk to this Harkin."

My omni tool beeps, and I look down to see a new message just having arrived in my inbox.

It's from Marinia.

_"__Forwarded your case to Vak. He's taking a look at it and would like to meet you. He gets off work in around four hours so you can meet him outside C-Sec HQ. I told him you'll be waiting outside._

_The Executor himself bumped the case to top priority, which I've never seen done before._

_Maybe he knows the quarian? Peculiar._

_Kind regards,_

_Marie."_

I look up at Shepard and grin.

"Good news, we got some actual C-Sec help."

"Who's helping?" Shepard says eagerly.

"C-Sec detective," I shrug. "Said we should meet him outside C-Sec HQ in four hours."

"Sounds like a plan," Shepard states dryly. "I still say we should go and see Harkin."

"Yeah, I guess," I say hesitantly. "I don't think it'll lead anywhere but it's worth a shot at any rate."

"I'll update Anderson and get Williams on board," Shepard says as she jumps up from her seat.

"I'll meet you outside."

Shepard leaves the comm room and I'm left standing in the middle. This is some good news! I was afraid that I had completely fucked everything up before the adventure even got started. It's good to know that I just might have another chance to set things a little straighter.

I walk out of the comm room and spot Kaidan walking through the airlock.

"Hey! Kaidan!" I shout as I jog over to him.

He seems completely fine aside from the bandage wrapped around his abdomen.

"You alright?" I ask as I take the bag of what seems to be his belongings from his back.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he smiles weakly. "Just absolutely exhausted."

We begin to make our way back towards the inside of the ship.

"You took a pretty nasty hit," I say as I sling the bag over my right shoulder, nearly losing my balance in the process.

"I didn't even notice it until the attack was over," Kaidan chuckles mirthlessly. "It all happened so fast."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," I agree. "We're on track to nail the bastards that did this thought."

"That's good," he nods. "Any news on the missing quarian?"

"Not yet, but we're getting there," I answer. "C-Sec caved and is supporting us in the search."

We get to the bottom of the stairs, and I notice that Kaidan looks absolutely knackered from the short walk.

"You should get some rest," I say. "You look like you're about to collapse."

Out of the corner of my eye, the med bay door slides open and Dr. Chakwas walks out.

"Alenko, just who I was looking for!"

"I got it from here," Kaidan says thankfully. "You can set the bag down; I'll pick it up later."

I set the bag down and lean it against a wall.

"Thank you," Kaidan says. "I'll see you around."

* * *

Harkin was in no condition to talk. We arrived to find him being kicked out of Chora's Den and we soon found out why.

He was belligerently drunk and aggressive.

Shepard, Ashley and I managed to drag him away from the krogan bouncer who came dangerously close to curb stomping him, but he decided it was better to spit in my general direction and try and grab Shepard's boobs when he calmed down a bit.

As you can imagine, we left soon after.

We spent the last few hours back at the Normandy before heading to C-Sec HQ to meet with the detective that Marinia said would help us with finding Tali.

"So how exactly is this detective going to help us again?" Ashley asks as she's browsing a menu pad in the café situated right across from the headquarters.

We all decided to change into civilian clothes to avoid drawing too much attention onto us.

I lean back in my chair and stretch my arms out, taking a deep breath in the process.

"He's got inside access into C-Sec files," I say after getting a nasty crack out of my back. "Stuff that may be helpful in trying to find Tali."

I can sense that Ashley is still skeptical about all of this.

"I get that, but don't you think that Powell's testimony is enough?"

"Highly doubt it," I shake my head. "Do you really think the council is going to side with us because of the testimony of a shady Eden Prime dock worker?"

"I guess," Ashley grunts.

"What if what she said wasn't true though?" she asks, looking up from the menu.

"I don't think she'd lie about that kind of stuff," Shepard adds. "She's got info that's worth kidnapping over. She mentioned a Spectre."

"Either this is the most astronomical coincidence in the history of coincidences…-, " I begin to say.

"Or luck may be on our side," Shepard completes the sentence.

Shepard and I exchange a quick glance.

Words out of my mouth.

"We have time to kill until we meet the council anyway," I shrug. "I think it's better to spend that time doing something productive rather than sulking around the Normandy all day."

"I don't know about this," Ashley says. "But… you're right. I didn't have anything else to do today."

"Think of it this way," I continue. "We want to nail the bastard that killed over a million innocent civilians and close friends of ours, Ashley. This may just make it a little easier for us."

Ashley seems to mull over what I said in her head for a few seconds.

"You're right," Ashley acquiesces. "All I do is think when I'm alone anyway."

"I know the feeling," I say. "I still can't fully grasp what happened."

"You said you had some sort of… vision when the beacon lifted you up," Ashley says, changing the subject. "What did you see?"

"It was mostly just visual gibberish," I muse. "But the beacon was warning us of something, that I'm sure about."

"You said something about trillions of corpses," Shepard says. "Do you think it was warning us of something apocalyptic?"

"It's hard to tell," I lie. "I saw something… well something robotic throughout the vision. Like machines of death."

"Maybe it'll become clearer over time," Shepard says, trying to sound reassuring.

"I hope," I shrug. "It's giving me a headache just trying to decode it all."

Shepard checks the time on her omni-tool.

"We should get going," She hurries us. "Our detectives shift just ended."

"Shit, you're right," I curse as I check the time as well.

We've crossed the plaza separating us from C-Sec headquarters in under a minute.

"I hope he isn't late," I say while crossing my arms.

The next few minutes are spent in silence as the three of us are eyeing the main entrance of the C-Sec HQ. Sporadically, people begin to leave, but none of them seem to be the detective we're looking for.

"You think he forgot about us?" Ashley asks as she sits down on a bench that's a few steps away from where we're sitting.

"I doubt it," I say, uncrossing my arms. "Maybe he just got caught up in something."

"Didn't think that detectives have set working times anyway," Shepard chuckles.

Another twenty C-Sec employees leave the station before a turian catches our eye.

He takes a few steps out of the office and begins to look around before spotting us.

"I think that's him," I say, lightly jabbing Shepard with my elbow to get her to look up from her omni-tool.

The closer the turian gets, the more I have to try and suppress a smile.

"Do you happen to be friends with Marie?" a familiar voice asks, hint of uncertainty evident.

"I am yes," I say as I approach the turian and stick out my hand.

"The name's David," I smile. "Thank you for meeting with us."

The turian extends his talons and we shake hands firmly.

"Garrus Vakarian," he says courteously.

"I would like to ask you a few questions concerning the missing quarian that Marie brought to my attention."

"Not a problem," I say as I usher Garrus to follow me. "These are my two friends and colleagues. Ashley Williams and Olivia Shepard."

Both Ashley and Shepard each exchange quick pleasantries with Garrus, and the excitement in the pit of my stomach seems to build.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Garrus," I say. "Let's talk this over somewhere a little quieter."

"Lead the way," Garrus says.

Luck really does seem to be on my side… for now at least.

Better make use of it while I still can.

* * *

_And there we have it! This one was a long time in the making, and I apologize for the delay once more. _

_I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! To me, a slower dialogue heavy chapter to set up some action and plot points is always a blast to write. I did have to start over a few times though as I wasn't always happy with how some of the chapter came out._

_At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it._

_As always, please remember to review this chapter, as I love reading your feedback. It's what motivates me to keep going the most!_

_See you all next time._

_Cheers!_

_David_


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